I didn't even realize that phones had certain "environmental requirement". But I was looking over the iPhone 4S's technical page today and read this:

Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: −4° to 113° F (−20° to 45° C)


Does anyone even know what that means?

It means it will operate with the power on from 32F to 95F, conversely, so long as it is OFF, it will not damage the phone for it to be in temperatures from -4F to 113F.

I thought that it meant that it wouldn't even operate when in those temperatures. Thanks for explaining! I just never realized that temperature mattered.

See, I have always thought it was a bad idea to leave an iPhone or any other electronic in a car for an extended period of time. It might seem OK, but I think leaving it in a car can lead to premature death of the device. I mean it gets pretty dang hot in a sealed car during the summer right?

Yeah, it does get pretty hot in a car on a sunny day. I wonder what happens if you do leave it in a hot car. Say it does break and you send it in to be fixed under warranty. Can they tell that it has been subjected to temperatures outside of the given range the way they can tell if it has gotten wet?